Fund established to assist JJ's Restaurant explosion victims

1 person killed in blast

The owners of JJ's Restaurant and AEG have announced the establishment of a fund to assist victims of this month's explosion at the restaurant.

Server Megan Cramer died and 15 others were injured in the blast on Feb. 19.

AEG said it would donate $50,000 for a trust to help J.J.'s employees. CEO Tim Leiweke said half of the money would come from an honorarium he was to receive from a speech in Kansas City Thursday and the Sprint Center Foundation matched the donation.

"We're heartbroken. We certainly feel for the families who were there. We certainly feel for the one employee who we lost," Leiweke said. "Our heart and soul is in the city and Kansas City means a lot to us."

The fund will also get money that has been donated from other members of the community. Organizers said the money would be guided by three trustees: staff member Josh Lehne and community leaders Jay Daugherty and David Fowler.

Owner Jimmy Frantze said he wanted to assure the public that the money would be used to help support employees at the restaurant who incurred medical costs and lost wages after the fire. Money would also go to help Cramer's family.

He said if any money was left over, it would be used in a way that would benefit the community.

The J.J.'s Staff Assistance Fund is being established at Country Club Bank and people can make donations at any branch. Frantze said the restaurant was also making an initial $5,000 donation to the fund.

Frantze said he wanted to make sure workers would continue to be employed while the restaurant's future is being decided. They would continue to receive health insurance coverage and worker's compensation insurance.

Frantze said nine people were inside the restaurant at the time of the explosion.

"My sous chef was still in the kitchen, still half-buried in the rubble," he said.

He said Patrick Woodward probably would have died if a co-worker hadn't jumped to his aid.

"One of my bartenders grabbed a passerby on the street and ran back into the building while it was on fire," he said.

Woodward is expected to be in the hospital for another 10 days. Frantze said Woodward has been in a medically induced coma and had undergone skin grafts.

He said his staff has visible scars, but the greatest harm may not be as obvious.

"There's a lot of trauma to begin with," he said. "My staff wakes up with nightmares."

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